Binocular pocket

ABSTRACT

A pocket adapted to be attached to an upper torso garment to hold a pair of binoculars. The pocket comprises a body member and a flap member detachably attached thereto, the flap member having an opening intermediate the sides thereof to permit the straps of the binoculars to pass through and rest around the neck of the wearer of the upper torso garment. When ready access to the binoculars is required the wearer of the upper torso garment detaches the flap member from the body member and detaches one side of the flap member from the upper torso garment to permit the straps to be removed exteriorly from the pocket without removing them from the neck of the wearer.

United States Patent Campisi 1 3,782,614 Jan. 1, 1974 BINOCULAR POCKET 22 Filed: May 1, 1972 [21] App]. No.: 248,963

[5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 9/1942 Watkins 224/26 R 1,537,956 5/1925 McNallyi... 3,307,757 3/1967 Ciatos et a1 224/26 R X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,333,569 1963 France 2/94 Jimmy T. Campisi, 1027 Parkinson OTHER PUBLICATIONS P. N. R. 1104-, April 5, 1971, Fishing Vest sold by The American Import Co.

Primary Examiner-Gerald M. Forlenza Assistant Examiner-Jerold M. Forsberg Attorney--1-1ubert.E. Dubb et a1.

[ ABSTRACT A pocket adapted to be attached to an upper torso garment to hold a pair of binoculars. The pocket comprises a body member and a flap member detachably attached thereto, the flap member having an opening intermediate the sides thereof to permit the straps of the binoculars to pass through and rest around the neck of the wearer of the upper torso garment. When ready access to the binoculars is required the wearer of the upper torso garment detaches the flap member from the body member and detaches one side of the flap member from the upper torso garment to permit the straps to be removed exteriorly from the pocket without removing them from the neck of the wearer.

4 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures BINOCULAR POCKET This invention relates to a pocket adapted to hold a pair of binoculars and, more particularly, relates to a pocket which will house a pairof binoculars and from which the binoculars can be rapidly removed when needed.

Binoculars are typically carried by hunters, birdwatchers, and other sportsmen, by a strap which hangs I around the neck. When the binoculars are actually in use and for intermittent periods of non-use the strap serves as a useful means of keeping the binoculars close to the user. However, when the binoculars are not in use for a long period of time the binoculars typically hang via the strap from the neck of the user and the weight of the binoculars may cause the user to acquire a sore neck. Also, the binoculars will bounce back and forth against the chest of the user and cause discomfort as well as interfere with other activites such as hiking, aiming a rifle or shooting a bow and arrow. Further, the strap may break and the binoculars may be damaged by hitting the ground. Or the binoculars may hit foreign objects and be damaged.

In order to prevent a pair of binoculars from bouncing back and forth against the chest or from hanging from the neck for a long period of time or to protect binoculars generally from damage sportsmen often will store the binoculars in a knapsack or other storage medium. If game is sighted or if a need otherwise arises to have immediate access to the binoculars, however, such storage does not permit ready access. For example, once game is sighted the sportsman would wish to confirm the identification of the game through the use of binoculars and then move rapidly towards the game to get a good shot. Thus, even if the binoculars can be quickly removed from such a storage medium the sportsman has to take the trouble of putting the strap around his neck so that once he identifies the game he can move quickly on the ground without having to hold the binoculars. Again, even if the strap is put around 1 the neck the problem of the binoculars bouncing back and forth against the sportsmans chestis present.

When sportsmen are in the field they must be prepared to encounter inclement weather. They carry at least one water-proofed outfit with them in case they encounter such an eventuality. In case of inclement weather the only place a pair of binoculars can be safely stored would be under such clothing, a situation which would not permit ready access to the binoculars. Letting a pair of binoculars hang from the neck of a sportsman in a rain storm would subject most binoculars to severe damage since they incorporate intricate telescoping gears and delicate lenses.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a pocket adapted to house a pair of binoculars so that a sportsman may have ready access to the binoculars.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a pocket for binoculars so that the binocular strap can hang around the neck of the user without having the weight of the binoculars pulling against the user's neck.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a convenient waterproof storage pocket for a pair of binoculars.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide a pocket which permits the straps of a pair of binoculars to hang around the neck of a sportsman while preventing the binoculars from hitting the sportmans chest or foreign objects.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the binocular pocket of the present invention illustrating a pair of binoculars in place in the pocket with the straps resting around the neck of the sportsman.

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the binocular pocket of the present invention with a pair of binoculars wholly enclosed within the pocket.

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the binocular pocket with the flap in the completely open position.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The binocular pocket of the present invention comprises a body member open at the upper end and a flap member adapted to fit over the upper end of. the body member. Both the body member and the overhanging flap are adapted to be attached to an upper torso garment so that the strap of the binoculars may rest around the neck of a sportsman. The binocular pocket will hold a pair of binoculars without straps or with straps lying in the pocket, will hold a pair of binoculars with the binocular strap fitting through an opening at the upper end of the flap member so that the straps will fit loosely around the neck of a sportsman and, in either mode, permits their ready removal. Ready removal is accomplished by a means of detachably attaching the upper part of said body member to the lower end of said flap member and a means to detachably attach at least one side of the upper end of said flap member to said upper torso garment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The completely enclosed mode of operation is illus-- trated in FIG. 2. The primarymod-e is illustrated in FIG. 1. in this latter mode the weight of the binoculars 16 is taken off the neck of the sportsman so that he may comfortably move about without developing a sore neck. In the mode illustrated in FIG. 1, the binoculars l6 lie in pocket it and straps 6 rest around the neck of the sportsman. Straps 6 pass through opening 5 along the upper edge of flap member 4. Binoculars 16 will not flap against the chest of the sportsman so that he may move through thick underbrush or may run quickly in pursuit of game without interference from flapping binoculars. Also, the binoculars will not fall if the strap should break and cannot hit foreign objects.

When the binoculars are required, the sportsman need only rip off the lower edge 11 of flap 4, shown in FIG 3, from its detachably attachable engagement with upper edge 13 of body member 3 and further disengage side 10 of upper edge 15 of flap member 4 from its detachably attachable engagement with engagement means 12 on upper torso garment 2. In practice, detachable attachment may be achieved by means of zippers, buttons, or the like. The preferred embodiment is the use of the mateable nylon mesh engagably disengagable strips which are commonly used on garments.

Body member 3 and flap member 4 of binocular pocket I may be fabricated from various types of flexible fabric material or can be constructed of fibrous or flexible thermoplastic materials. Preferably, the mate rial used will be waterproof so that the binoculars can be completely enclosed and protected if inclement weather conditions are encountered. Also, in most cases the pocket will be constructed from a foldable fabric material so the pocket will collapse against the upper torso garment when it does not contain a pair of binoculars.

The pocket may be made as a separate item which can be sewn by individuals onto vests or hunting jackets or it can'be fabricated as an integral part of a garment. In the former case the back 17, the sides of leg sections 8 and 9 of body member 3 and one side (shown to be side 14) of upper edge 15 of flap member 4 must be sewn onto. the garment. Detachable attachment means 12 must also be affixed to the garment. In this case ready access binocular pockets can conveniently be provided for sportsmen who already own hunting or shooting vests.

In the preferred embodiment body member 3 is fabricated with leg sections 8 and 9 so that the two sides of a pair of binoculars 16 will be held snuggly in place. In a further embodiment strip 7 interconnecting leg sections 8 and 9 and the inner sides of leg sections 8 and 9 are reinforced with a plastic strip to provide support for the binoculars.

While several embodiments of the binocular pocket of the present invention have been described in the foregoing specification, the invention is intended to be limited solely by the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A pocket adapted to house apair of binoculars, comprising, in combination:

A body member adapted to be attached to an upper torso garment, said body member being open at the upper end thereof, said body member having a lower portion which consists of two separate leg sections on either side of said body member with a raised support section intermediate said leg sections to accommodate in mated relationship the parallel lenses of a pair of binoculars;

A flap member adapted to have a first edge thereof attached to said upper torso garment above said body member, said first edge having an opening adjacent the middle region thereof to permit binocular straps to pass therethrough, said first edge beingfixedly attachable to said garment on one side of said opening and detachably attachable to said garment on the other side of said opening, said flap member having a second edge opposite said first edge, said second edge being detachably attachable to said body member adjacent the open upper end of said body member, said flap fitting over said open upper end of said body member.

2. A pocket as in claim 1 wherein said first edge is detachably attachable to said garment by means of a pair of cooperating nylon mesh garment fasteners.

3. A pocket as in claim 2 wherein said second edge of said flap member is detachably attachable to said body member by means of a pair of cooperating nylon mesh garment fasteners.

4. A pocket as in claim 1 wherein the inner sides of said leg sections and the strip interconnecting said leg sections are reinforced to provide structural support for a pair of binoculars. 

1. A pocket adapted to house a pair of binoculars, comprising, in combination: A body member adapted to be attached to an upper torso garment, said body member being open at the upper end thereof, said body member having a lower portion which consists of two separate leg sections on either side of said body member with a raised support section intermediate said leg sections to accommodate in mated relationship the parallel lenses of a pair of binoculars; A flap member adapted to have a first edge thereof attached to said upper torso garment above said body member, said first edge having an opening adjacent the middle region thereof to permit binocular straps to pass therethrough, said first edge being fixedly attachable to said garment on one side of said opening and detachably attachable to said garment on the other side of said opening, said flap member having a second edge opposite said first edge, said second edge being detachably attachable to said body member adjacent the open upper end of said body member, said flap fitting over said open upper end of said body member.
 2. A pocket as in claim 1 wherein said first edge is detachably attachable to said garment by means of a pair of cooperating nylon mesh garment fasteners.
 3. A pocket as in claim 2 wherein said second edge of said flap member is detachably attachable to said body member by means of a pair of cooperating nylon mesh garment fasteners.
 4. A pocket as in claim 1 wherein the inner sides of said leg sections and the strip interconnecting said leg sections are reinforced to provide structural support for a pair of binoculars. 